Table 3.
Causality assessment of SAEs as reported in the included articles
| Sudy | SAEs | Causality | n |
| Endres et al 200433 | |||
| Death | Unlikely | 9 | |
| Fall or trauma, with or without fracture | Possible | 4 | |
| Acute general infection with hospitalisation | Unlikely | 2 | |
| Allergic reaction to concomitant medication (atopy) | Possible | 1 | |
| Stroke with hospitalisation | Unlikely | 3 | |
| Cardiovascular problems (hospital admission) | Possible | 3 | |
| Intervertebral disk prolapse, pain exacerbation with hospital admission | Unclassifiable | 5 | |
| Malignant parotid tumour (hospital admission) | Unlikely | 1 | |
| Hospitalisation (unknown reasons) | Unclassifiable | 17 | |
| Weidenhammer et al 2008 ther.46 | |||
| Pneumothorax | Possible | 5 | |
| Suicidiation in a patient with borderline syndrome | Unlikely | 1 | |
| Hypertensive crisis | Possible | 1 | |
| Syncope (vasovagal reaction) | Possible | 2 | |
| Asthma attack in a patient with asthma | Possible | 1 | |
| Erysipelas (one in a patient with lymphedema) | Possible | 2 | |
| Circulatory collapse (one with uncontrolled defecation and one with vertigo and paraesthesia) | Possible | 2 | |
| Circulatory reaction with amnesia | Unlikely | 1 | |
| Tonic–clonic seizures and ophistotonus | Unlikely | 1 | |
| Infection of the knee joint with Escherichia coli bacteria | Possible | 1 | |
| Melchart et al 200441 | |||
| Exacerbation of depression | Possible | 1 | |
| Hypertensive crisis | Possible | 1 | |
| Vasovagal reaction | Possible | 1 | |
| Asthma attack with hypertension and angina | Possible | 1 | |
| Pneumothorax | Possible | 2 | |
| Yamashita et al 199951 | |||
| Hospitalisation of patient with asthma because of coughing | Possible | 1 | |
| One case of deep burn that recovered after 2 years | Possible | 1 | |
| MacPherson et al 200438 | |||
| LBP in patient with breast cancer, hospital admission, disappeared without medication, since then no more LBP | Possible | 1 | |
| Car crash 2 days after acupuncture, very little sleep the night before | Unlikely | 1 | |
| Skin rash and feeling ill for several weeks accompanied by decrease of myalgic encephalomyelitis symptoms and feeling of catharsis (no treatment) | Possible | 1 | |
The total number of SAEs as well as the total number of treatments in each study can be identified from figure 4.
LBP, low back pain; SAE, serious adverse event.